According to the Lord Ashcroft research of 5,000 voters who took part in the first independence referendum, the under 50 age group voted yes, and the over 50s voted no, quite massively.

If we were to take this information at face value, then it would suggest that perhaps the older generation may have been taken in by the lies of project fear - firstly that their state pension would no longer be guaranteed, and secondly that their state pension could be reduced.

If a second campaign for independence made state pensions the absolute top priority - perhaps it would offer an incentive to those pensioners who are wavering on whether or not to pass on the fruits of independence to future generations.

It goes without saying that Scotland couldn't do much worse than we are right now, as a part of the United Kingdom - one million Scots are in poverty and there are queues at food banks up and down the country due to cruel and harsh punishment at the hands of the British state.

The British state pension is the LOWEST in the developed world - pretty shocking.

If I were running the independence campaign, I'd focus entirely on pensions as a top priority - I would offer a cast iron guarantee to protect and deliver a fair and decent state pension. I would immediately increase the state pension by £30 pounds a week, across the board.

An increase of £30 pounds a week, would cost the Scottish Government approximately £1.5 billion pounds a year to deliver. But it would be a solid, financial incentive that would give pensioners a security blanket and a reward for the risk that they perceive to be taking by voting for independence.

Once you have the majority of pensioners on board - a snowball effect can occur - they can inform and persuade other pensioners, and can possibly even persuade younger family members that independence is a risk worth taking.

It goes without saying, according to GERS figures, that massive annual savings could be made on day one of independence - why would a country with the population size of Scotland pay such ridiculous amounts for public services, defence, deficit repayments etc? If you see some of the other articles on this blog, you'll see that we could easily save £13.4 billion annually on day one of independence, and that would be a conservative estimate - so paying for the state pension increase is easily achievable.

It is not unreasonable to suggest that the state pension would increase further over a period of time - once Scotland establishes itself as a successful independent nation - other small independent countries with a similar population to Scotland pay MUCH HIGHER state pensions than the pathetic amount currently offered by the British state.

But it's important not to make whimsical promises or offer vague suggestions - pensioners won't gamble on a whim - however they'll make the educated decision to vote for independence if they're offered a financial incentive to do so, and a CAST IRON GUARANTEE that it will be delivered.